A push for diversity on the bench

In Florida, President Barack Obama has nominated the first openly gay black man to sit on a federal district court. In New York, he has nominated the first Asian American lesbian. And his pick for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit? The first South Asian.

Reelected with strong support from women, ethnic minorities and gays, Obama is moving quickly to change the face of the federal judiciary by the end of his second term, setting the stage for another series of drawn-out confrontations with Republicans in Congress.

The president has named three dozen judicial candidates since January and is expected to nominate scores more over the next few months, aides said.

The new wave of nominations is part of an effort by Obama to cement a legacy that long outlives his presidency and makes the court system more closely resemble the changing society it governs, administration officials said.

“Diversity in and of itself is a thing that is strengthening the judicial system,” White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler said. “It enhances the bench and the performance of the bench and the quality of the discussion ... to have different perspectives, different life experiences, different professional experiences, coming from a different station in life, if you will.”

But Obama's biggest obstacle is the Senate, where Republicans have frequently blocked judicial confirmation votes for months or, in some cases, years. Obama has 35 nominees currently awaiting votes by the Senate – including several holdovers from 2012 who have been renominated this year – and there are more than 50 additional vacancies awaiting nominees, according to the Federal Judicial Center.

Some conservatives are skeptical of the push to name more women and minorities to the bench, arguing that it amounts to unjustified affirmative action. Curt Levey, an outspoken Obama critic who runs the advocacy group Committee for Justice, said White House officials may be “lowering their standards” to nominate more nonwhite judges.

SENATE ROADBLOCK

During Obama's first term, judicial nominations often fell by the wayside in the face of the economic crisis and other policy priorities at the White House. Many liberal allies complained that the president did little to champion nominees once they were named.

The White House said it intends to aggressively push for more judicial nominees during Obama's second term and is hopeful that changes in filibuster rules will help speed up the process. The Senate decided in January to limit debate for district court nominees from 30 hours to two hours, though the restrictions do not apply to nominees for the Supreme Court or federal appeals courts.

potential legacy

Of the 874 federal judgeships, 39 percent are held by women and 37 percent are held by non-whites, according to data kept by the Federal Judicial Center.

“It's very, very important that these courts reflect the diversity of what's coming in terms of demographics,” said Nancy Zirkin of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, an advocacy group. “It will be his most long-lasting legacy. ... Obama, by putting on a diverse number of judges, we believe, will shape the courts for years to come.”

Obama nominated Mary Murguia to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Murguia's parents emigrated from Mexico to Kansas, where she was born.

Others include the first Haitian American, Afro Caribbean, Vietnamese American and Korean American judges nominated to their respective positions.

diversity of experience

One senior Republican Senate aide, who requested anonymity in order to discuss the nomination process, said, “We are going to continue to insist on a level of quality” among nominees.

Liberal groups have been pressuring the White House to look for diversity not just in race, gender or sexual orientation, but also in professional experience. They want fewer corporate lawyers from white-shoe firms and more public defenders and lawyers from outside what is often called the “judicial monastery.”

The Obama judges, many in their 40s, also establish a diverse bench of progressives whom Obama or future presidents could tap for the Supreme Court.

One such nominee was Goodwin Liu, Obama's pick in February 2010 for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. As a Taiwanese American, Liu was a historic selection. But Republicans stalled his nomination for 15 months, saying that his broad interpretation of the Constitution and his criticism of conservative Supreme Court justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito were so liberal that he did not deserve an up-or-down vote.

“Goodwin Liu should run for elected office, not serve as a judge,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a statement. “Ideologues have their place, just not on the bench.”

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